Anyone know what the stock progressive spring rates are for the 5G prelude? I'm looking at a set of springs for the gf's lude and she doesn't want them too stiff compared to stock. Thanks.

 

Go with the Neuspeed Sport springs. The drop is really nice and the ride on the street is very comfy yet stiffer than stock.

 

I would really have to agree, the neuspeed sport are very soft riding and doesnt lower the car too much, I have a set of H&R sport which are the same as the Neuspeed. Im actually thinking of going with the Intrax street just to make it a little lower.

 

We're actually thinking about going with a set of 5Zigen springs cuz I've heard they have a very good ride and I can get a really good deal on them...but I want to see what the difference is between the 5zigen and stock rates are. Thanks.

 

To actually try & answer your question . . . . .

I'm not sure anyone knows for sure - the only figure I've ever been able to find is 200 front, 175 rear. That was on an old 5th gen FAQ on the vtec.net servers. But I've never seen anything confirming that information, so who knows. And I believe the stock springs are linear, not progressive.

One would think this knowledge would be more commonplace than it actually is. I'm always amazed at people willing to settle for a spring stiffness description along the lines of "not too harsh", "bouncy", or "rides good".

 

Allow me to inject a point here. The folks at Neuspeed told me that their springs are 40% stiffer than stock. If the rates mentioned in the post are correct then the math is simple. I can assure you that my 5th gen Base is indeed tighter handling than stock. I have used a specific road circuit to test both ways. Each of us has a preference. Mine is the NEuspeed Sport/Koni "yellow" Sport shock setup with a Neuspeed rear sway bar.
Hope this helps.

 

Thanks guys!

jc836: do you happen to know what the spring rates are for your neuspeed springs? I can calculate the stock rates from those. I can't find the spring rates on neuspeed's site, but I think they're usually listed on the box or somewhere (at least that's where they were on my friend's neuspeed springs for his teg). Thanks.

 

Sorry, but the rates are not on my box. You can get the data direct from Neuspeed's Tech line. I do remember a thread about the stock rates being around 200 tho.

 

kewl. Thanks!

 

I'm not sure how well that will work. I believe most aftermarket spring kits are progressive - which is why they don't generally give out a spring rate figure. It's just not applicable. You'd need a graph with inches of travel on one axis, and compression force required on the other axis. Gather enough graphs, and you could do a decent comparison.

If you do manage to get a spring rate figure on a progressive setup, find out if it's an average or maximum spring rate. But two progressive springs with the same average, maximum, & minimum rates can be vastly different.

Making things even more complicated are the kits that have progressive front springs, and linear rears. And if you're really looking for a head-ache, check out the dual-spring or helper spring setups.

Add in shock damping (compression & rebound), sway bars, and adequate (a.k.a. stock) suspension travel to the mix, and one can understand why I haven't touched mine (yet). The best (and most expensive) way to go is a complete coil-over package like Neuspeed, H&R, Teins, or DMS (my personal favorite). They've done all the work for you.

Of course, a set of pro-kits & AGX's is a sharp setup for under $600. And enough to satisfy most drivers.

 

Actually, if you ask, most companies will freely give the spring rates for their springs, whether progressive or linear. For the progressive springs, they just give you the min and max rates of the spring from min compression to max compression. How the curve that shows the progression of spring rate looks can vary and usually the tech guys at the companies won't even know. My friend's neuspeed sports were progressive and he had something (forgot if it was the box or a sheet of paper that came with the springs) that told him what the rates were. Also, the 5zigen springs I'm looking at have the spring rates. I just wanted to see how those rates compared to the stock rates cuz I can get them for a really good price. Thanks.

 

Not all springs are made the same way. Just so you know there are only a few brands that actually do "block set" the springs for height and stiffness several times. Seems that this is a German thing (3 companies) and it helps get the rates as well as ride height locked in before you install. As an example, Neuspeed goes thru their process 2 times before powder coating. I've seen NO sag at all in mine.
BTW; to add to this I had a set of Prokit springs and they are fine-just not as stiff as the Neuspeed IMO. Shocks-AGX is a good choice for those who don't do Koni (my preference).
Just something to look at when shopping. Happy 2002 and merry Luding


[Modified by jc836, 2:16 PM 1/3/2002]

 

Thanks!

 

Actually, the spring manufacturers I asked told me that information was proprietary and wouldn't tell me. Luckily Eibach used to have theirs listed on their website - the Pro-kits for a 5th gen were 250 front, 157-220 rear. They may have changed, that was almost a year ago. I expect the Neuspeeds would be around the same. As for the stock rates, I called the 1-800 number on honda's website. The lady I finally got to ask didn't know what I meant by spring rate. She gave me another 800 number, but I didn't want to hold for 45 mins. to ask again. I thought the rates would be in the shop manual, but they're not.

 

Thanks Steppin for the Prokit info! It looks like the stock 200F/175R might not be too far off since prokits aren't much stiffer than stock springs (usually)...tho, I think they still would be progressive from the factory. Progressive springs give a smoother ride overall, at least when only the driver's in the car, making it easier to sell the car when it's so "comfortable". Neuspeed happily gives their spring rate info out...I've never had a problem dealing with them...some of the nicest guys in the import industry. I remember Eibach had their rates on their site too...sucks that they removed them. 5Zigen gives out their rates as well. Thanks for all the help and info guys!

 

stock springs for 5th gen are F 170 R 190 ..
alot smoother than most people would think

and also alot better ratio than with all the aftermarket springs that induce even more understeer charact to the car..

for reference .. mugen lowdown sport suspension setup is F 3.4kg/mm R 3.8
stock is F 3.1 R 3.4

( multiply by around 55 for conversion to lbs/inch )

 

Really?

What's your source?

 

i'll try to find one of the palce i've seen that and i'll post it if i find..
otherwise you could ask people on http://www.prelude.org

and they had the rates for the mugen lowdown some time ago on a mugen related site. .